


Privacy

by k_itt



Series: Of Life... [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Background Character Death, Established Relationship, Homophobia, M/M, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21888508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/k_itt/pseuds/k_itt
Summary: Taeil would rather keep it private.--This story happens before the events inOf Life, storms and sunlightbut can be read as a stand alone.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Moon Taeil
Series: Of Life... [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567363
Kudos: 24





	Privacy

**Author's Note:**

> A little peek in Doyoung and Taeil's relationship.

Taeil watched, from Doyoung’s couch, the way his boyfriend walked back and forth from his bedroom; out, and then back inside, over and over again with his phone between his hand and his ear. It sounded serious and he didn’t want to pry. At the same time, his own head already started aching with the amount of messages still beeping on his phone as it already eleven in the morning, Wednesday, in Seoul, but still 8:32pm, Tuesday, in Chicago. He sighed.

There was a message from his mother and Taeil really wanted to ignore that right now, but it was business, so he couldn’t, right now. Those last few weeks had been complicated, both in Chicago and in Seoul, where he had been for a couple of days, just until this Saturday. It had been complicated both in business and out of it, too.

Business were always intricate, or so to speak, as it sometimes were more than numbers while numbers sometimes mattered more than pretty much else, but dealing with partnerships – as in breaking them and grounding new ones – was always challenging, meaning more travels and more meetings and more visits from his parents. All that also meant less time in Chicago, and less time for him to be with Doyoung and a lot of patience to deal with his parents, but Taeil managed it. He wasn’t sure, sometimes, how Doyoung managed it, but he had been doing it for years now and Taeil couldn’t be more grateful.

There were moments Taeil had really thought Doyoung wouldn’t manage it, and they have argued on those times more than anything, but Taeil knew Doyoung was right, and those were the times where Taeil didn’t know, in the end, how Doyoung manage it.

Last week had been one of those weeks, and to be honest, things hadn’t been completely back to normal, but they were handling it, together, once Taeil got back in Chicago, as arguing over phone calls with a difference of fifteen hours between them made things a lot more complicated than they really were.

Taeil’s family business needed new partners and Taeil had been traveling back and forth just for that. The real problem had been when his mother thought that it would be good for their business if Taeil dated a daughter of one of the CEO’s they were currently making deals with. Taeil hated mixing business with his love life. That was one of the reasons he didn’t tell anyone apart of his real close friends that he was dating someone, and had been for seven year now. But this was too much.

Taeil’s parents knew that he was gay. Deep down inside they knew it, as they have had caught him kissing that guy back in high school, once. They have always denied that and they always would, so that was just another reason why Taeil wouldn’t dare talking to them about Doyoung. Powerful people use to think they have more power than they actually have, and Taeil still doesn’t know the exact reason why that same guy from this teenage years had moved to another school, just a few weeks after that kiss, and that was the main reason Taeil wouldn’t ever dare to let his parents know about his relationship with Doyoung.

His mother, however, kept saying it wouldn’t be good for his reputation as a young businessman to be known as bachelor, and thirty-one was a perfect age to get married and stuff, but it was just talking, and Taeil could avoid it for weeks, sometimes, once he kept his feet out of Seoul, and his mother out Chicago. His father, on the other hand, liked to spread around Seoul that his son was a women heartbreaker back in Chicago. Taeil could only laugh.

But even his father had agreed that, this time, his mother had crossed borders when she set Taeil on a blind date with the CEO’s daughter, without Taeil knowledge. Not because he worried about Taeil, of course, but because the date resulted in nothing, of course, and that was bad to business _and_ their reputation – of course.

Doyoung had gone mad once Taeil told him about it and every travel to Seoul over the last few weeks had been a nightmare, as pressure inside business only grew and his mother still insisted on him going to second date with the girl. But leaving Doyoung like that was what really almost killed him.

It wasn’t fair, to neither of them, and sometimes Taeil knew he asked too much from Doyoung. But he loved Doyoung with everything he had and he knew that Doyoung loved him just the same, and he honestly couldn’t picture himself without Doyoung in his life.

Despite of everything, Taeil liked his job. He liked dealing with numbers and different people and having part with all the import decisions, and his team in Chicago was doing wonders to their business and it made him proud. He liked living in Chicago, and the weather resembled a lot the weather in Seoul and walking by the lake was almost like walking by river, and Taeil really liked the kind of life he had here, even more than the one he had in Seoul. He loved his parents, in spite of those things, but living on his own, where his mother couldn’t simply show up that easily, was also something he really liked.

He always considered himself a private person and never had been one to have many friends and he had made a handful of awesome friends in Chicago, Doyoung included, so didn’t have much to complain about having a private relationship with Doyoung. It was important for his boyfriend that his closer friends knew, so Taeil would never deny him something like that, but he always made sure to keep it as low as possible. He did it for himself, for some part of it, and for Doyoung’s privacy, for another good portion of it, but unfortunately, he also did because, in fact, his parents were right and it wouldn’t be good for his reputation as a Korean businessman.

All that didn’t mean he cared any less for his boyfriend and always made sure that, every moment he could, his time would and should be spent with the love of his life, and he would always make sure those moments were the best time ever.

They didn’t live together, of course, but there were weeks when Taeil would sleep at Doyoung’s bed more than he slept on his own bed, since they avoided sleeping together at Taeil’s, just in case. That was why, despite his mother having arrived in Chicago just a few hours ago and whom he would have a meeting early on the next morning, Taeil had went straight from work to Doyoung’s place that night. That, and probably the same reason why Doyoung was now staring at him with worried eyes from the corner of his living room.

Doyoung bit his lips hard, Taeil could tell, just like the grip of his hand around his phone and Taeil’s heart tensed twice, for the news he kind of expect to hear from his boyfriend, and for their friend.

“Was it Johnny?” Taeil asked, and Doyoung nodded.

“Jaehyun's mother didn’t make it. Johnny is on his way.”

Taeil didn’t know why he gasped, but he did, and soon Doyoung was walking to him and siting sideways on his lap and they hugged each other tight.

They hadn’t met Jaehyun’s mother, neither of them, but they have hear stories about her and even if they didn’t, Jaehyun was one of those awesome friends both him and Doyoung had made in Chicago.

It had been only yesterday when Doyoung called him during lunch time, and his boyfriend didn’t use to call him in the middle of the day unless it was something really important, especially during those tough times between them, like what had been going on now. When Taeil picked up the call and Doyoung’s voice sound too weak for his normal stead self, Taeil felt goosebumps, and not from the good type.

Jaehyun’s mother has been involved into a car accident with her husband back in Seoul; that was the first news Jaehyun have heard earlier on that Monday morning at work. Jaehyun and Doyoung worked right beside each other and Doyoung probably heard more than he should from his friend’s phone call, but they didn’t have said much. It was only hours later, that they’ve heard that Jaehyun’s step father had died in place, while his mother was currently being treated in the hospital, no further information.

Taeil’s family doesn’t have much medical contacts back in Seoul, although they have a few, but there was nothing Taeil could do to properly help this time and those last twenty-four hours had been kind of tense for all them. All Taeil knew was that both Doyoung and Jaehyun had been assigned together for some real important project, and Doyoung had been holding things at work for Jaehyun while their friend was having a lot of trouble to contact his brother, back in Seoul, and information from the Hospital were mostly useless.

“Did he tell you what happened?” Taeil couldn’t help but ask and Doyoung sighed before he pulled back, still on Taeil’s lap, and his boyfriend nodded briefly.

“She lost a lot of blood and the doctors induced the coma, but she didn’t make it. She passed away earlier this morning.”

“And they only told Jaehyun about it now?”

“Apparently.”

Doyoung pressed his lips tight again and they both sighed, loudly, and Taeil’s heart clenched one more time for his friend, but the look in Doyoung face, red eyes and puffed cheeks, made him pull his boyfriend back to him and Doyoung immediately let him. He hid his face in Taeil’s neck while Taeil softly caressed his boyfriend’s back and they only held each other for minutes straight, like they didn’t really have done in weeks, until now.

“I’m sorry.” Doyoung whispered minutes later and his voice cracked just a bit as he went on. “I missed you so much while you were in Korea, I didn’t want to fight. But I’m afraid something bad happens to you one day and your family won’t let me get to you.”

Taeil sighed, pulling Doyoung even closer and holding him even tighter as he kissed the younger shoulder. “There’s no reason for them to not let you get to me, ever, that’s why I won’t tell them.”

Taeil’s heard his own voice crackle just the same, before Doyoung pushed back. His cheeks were slightly wet and Taeil cleaned it with the back of his fingers and then cupped his face with his hand.

“I know.”

Doyoung knew and Taeil knew. But there were times they were both tired of hiding, when it wasn’t just being private, because being pushed into blind dates behind his lovers back was nothing like making Doyoung happy, and all Taeil wanted was to make Doyoung happy. 

“I am sorry, too.” Taeil whispered and there were so many things he was sorry for, but Doyoung simply smiled to him, sadly, but smiled still, and Taeil’s pulled him closer one more time, until their lips met in a soft kiss. “I love you, Doie.”

“I love you too.”

Taeil sighed when Doyoung kissed him back, chaste, but long with lips pressed firm and soothing against his own, at the same time his phone buzzed again beside them. It hurt him sometimes, to not let the world know about them, to not allow Doyoung this kind of happiness, but apart from that, he would still do anything just to make his boyfriend happy.

His mother and his work would both have to wait, this time.

**Author's Note:**

> [@twitter](https://twitter.com/10queso)   
>  [@curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/10queso)


End file.
